Should Parents Be Tested Before Teens Can Get A Driver’s License

Seth Smiley from the Smiley Law Firm is here with today’s topic for the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group. We will discuss, “Should parents be tested before teens can get a driver’s license?”

I have read online about an exciting new concept from Illinois. They have optional courses for parents of teen drivers for when a new teenage driver goes to get their driver’s license. It got me thinking that if we genuinely want to keep teens safe on the road, then we could make a course for parents a requirement.

The teen driving statistics are frightening. So the aim is to educate parents about how to advise their kids to drive carefully, follow the rules, stay focused, and avoid distracted driving. The course could be set up over Zoom, or similar, and parents would be required to attend a certain amount of hours before their teenager can take the driving test.

The teen driving data is real, and we need to make the roads safer for our teens. It seems a practical step to take as parents are the ones who are always in the teen’s ear with advice, teaching them how to do things the right way, and giving them information. More accidents and fatalities happen among teen drivers than any other age group, so a course that explains how parents teach their children to be safe is a good step forward.

Would this be something as a parent of a teen driver you would like to do? Would you like to take a course on how to keep your teen safe behind the wheel, or would you like resources like that available? If you have any questions or insights about, “Should parents be tested before teens can get a driver’s license,” please comment below.